Legends of Screamo

This post won't make any sense until you click Play.
Notice anything 'different' about that voice? Well, let me explain. The singer of JEROMES DREAM didn't like using microphones. I guess microphones just weren't raw enough for him? So that distinctive howl you hear, that's what happens when you've got a dude screaming with all his might, but just left a microphone on the ground to pick up a few sound waves here and there. So, as powerful as his voice sounds, you're not even getting a fraction of what you'd hear if he was screaming in your face.

Do you understand how insane this is?

So they would play shows, and their sets would only last about 10 minutes. That's not atypical for grindcore bands...but hell, you can see why they wore out so quickly. Those vocals, those riffs, those drums...everything's fucking FAST. And LOUD.

Side note: if you thought screamo was all myspace kids with slick haircuts, you were fucking WRONG. There was a pretty intense brand of screamo that some would describe as powerviolence. See also COMBATWOUNDEDVETERAN and BUCKET FULL OF TEETH.

So yeah, about that "short-lived" thing. JEROMES DREAM lasted for five years as a band (1996-2001). Guess what! Their singer ruined his voice. At the tail end of their career, he started shouting into a megaphone to give his voice a rest. Here's an example: Double Who? Double You!

They called it quits after that, which is too bad, because I feel like their songwriting was getting a lot better at this point. They cranked out a lot of songs - over 40 on their discography set - and IMO the best ones are the later ones, which actually have clear melodies here and there, which have some ebb-and-flow to them. They got less grindy, sure, but I thought it was a good trade-off. Also, their new style was more sustainable.